Brand, Perry to wed near Indian tiger sanctuary

Thursday

Oct 21, 2010 at 7:37 AMOct 21, 2010 at 7:45 AM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

JAIPUR, India (AP) — Russell Brand and Katy Perry are getting married this weekend at a luxury resort outside the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in the Indian state of Rajasthan, a local tour operator said Thursday.

The British comedian and American pop star arrived Wednesday at Mumbai airport.

Their six-day celebration begins Saturday with a Hindu wedding ceremony conducted by a local priest at the Sher Bagh resort, said Rajasthan Tours manager Mohan Singh, whose company is one of several involved in organizing the event.

"This would be a colorful Rajasthan wedding, and both Brand and Perry would be attired in Indian wedding attires," Singh said.

The couple have hired 13 vehicles to take some of their 80 or so guests on tours of the wildlife sanctuary in the days after the wedding, Singh said.

The Ranthambore National Park, one of northern India's largest sanctuaries, is best known for it large tiger population — with 27 now — but is also home to leopards, wild boars, hyenas and sloth bears. The sanctuary, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of the pink-painted city of Jaipur, also includes several lakes and a 10th-century fort.

Brand and Perry will be staying in a luxury tent at the Aman-i-Khas resort, just outside the sanctuary, with guests staying at the nearby Vanyavilas and Sher Bagh resorts, Singh said.

Private security has already been stationed at the hotels, which have refused to discuss the event with media.

Local police said they had not been informed of the impending nuptials.

"We have no clue about the celebrations. But we would not allow playing of musical instruments and blaring loudspeakers after 10 in the night," Sawaimadhopur district police chief Vishnu Kant said. Fireworks and other loud noises that might disturb guests or wildlife are also ruled out. "We are bound by the Indian laws," the police chief said.

Hoping to keep the event details secret, the couple had sent out wedding invitations saying simply that they were getting married in India and the celebrations would last for up to a week.

Katy Perry's Twitter page also contains a plea for privacy: "TWIT BREAK: Greatest gift you can give us is respect and love during this private time. No use wasting our time with STOLEN or FALSE info. Thank you for this."

The couple have given the exclusive coverage rights to a London magazine, and no other photographers or journalists will be allowed into the resort.

Guests, who also began arriving in India on Wednesday, are expected to include Barbadian pop singer Rihanna, the star of comedy show "Little Britain," David Walliams. Also likely to attend is TV presenter Jonathan Ross, whom Brand joined in the infamous prank phone call to actor Andrew Sachs to boast that he had slept with the actor's granddaughter. Ross' representative Gary Farrow said Ross would "probably" be going, but could not discuss it further as it was a private affair.